How to make meatballs with dried barberries and pine nuts

Meatballs with a garlicky tomato sauce is a comfort food classic and the perfect food for chilly autumn days that seem to be more dark than light.

It’s also the ideal starting point for adding different flavours – sweet dried fruit, crunchy nuts, herbs and spices.

Start with your protein – you can stick with beef mince, but adding pork keeps the meatballs moister. Or go for lamb mince or turkey (but add an egg to keep lean poultry moist).

For dried fruit, try barberries – small, red, tart fruits – or you can substitute chopped dried cranberries.

Chopped apricots are a good choice or even bits of chopped prune, if you prefer a sweeter accent.

Nuts add crunch and you could use chopped pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds or pine nuts. Toast them first with your dried spice to bring out their flavour.

Make sure to fry a small patty first to get your seasoning right, and give the tomato sauce a strong hit of garlic.

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Serves 4

400g beef mince
200g pork mince
25g barberries or chopped dried cranberries
25g pine nuts
1 tsp cumin seeds
30g fresh coriander, chopped
1 tsp Aleppo pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Garlicky tomato sauce

2-400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
150ml water

In a frying pan, toast the cumin seeds and pine nuts over medium heat for a minute or two, until the pine nuts start to brown and you can smell the aroma of the cumin.

Mix the beef and pork mince in a bowl with the pine nuts, cumin seeds, most of the chopped coriander (reserve some to use as garnish) and the Aleppo pepper. Season generously with salt, fry a small patty and taste – adjust the seasoning as needed.

Form the mixture into balls the size of a 50p piece and slightly flatten them into patties. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs in batches. If there is excess oil in the pan, remove it, leaving about a tablespoon.

Cook the garlic for a minute or two until golden but not brown. Add back in the meatballs and tomatoes. Pour the water into the tins to pick up any leftover tomato juice and add to the pan.

Cook for a few minutes until the sauce is reduced slightly (it should nicely coat the meatballs).

At this point you can serve or lower the heat and allow to cook longer to marry the flavours. Serve with rice, bulgur wheat or slices of French bread.

@juliapleonard